Enchanter
"Enchanter" is an upcoming rank that gives responsible players access to high-level magic. The Enchanter Rank is part of the rank system, which allows players who have met or completed certain challenges, tasks and point requirements to access privileges that are out of reach for starting players in the Lands of Mythron. Requirements To be determined Abilities and Restrictions This rank gives players access to high-level magic than they normally have access to. The rule that the staff proposed to determine whether magic requires the Enchanter rank is as follows: Normal players may access the sort of magic that makes its wielder worth at most twenty to thirty soldiers on a battlefield, could threaten a small town but not a large city or wider province or otherwise lacks the power to cause ripples across the group storyline. Enchanters have almost unlimited magical power, but they are asked that they use it wisely or with staff permission so that their magic does not cause fallout that would affect the nature of the game or group story. The Baron Rank and certain other powers may occasionally be used in conjunction with the Enchanter Rank to create exceptions. Examples of Magic Available to All Players Battle Magic Normal players can have mages and magic-wielders worth up to about 20 regular soldiers on the battlefield, which is on the high end of what can be expected from an LOM hero or villain of any kind. The same rule applies to magical beasts such as dragons - they're intimidating, but can still be brought down by enough archers or foot soldiers if need be. It is also recommended that players restrict the number of magic-users at this power level in any specific encounter: for example, rather than facing five evil sorcerers each worth twenty people for a combined threat level of 100 people, try one max-level sorcerer and a few weaker back-up sorcerers. Also bear in mind that 20 people is the upper maximum, and not a recommendation - most powerful magicians used in the LOM are somewhere below this level. As for spells that one might see in battle, these are fairly open-ended: fireballs, lightning, shields, summoning, etc. Players are expected to be creative as long as they keep scale in mind. Portals and Teleportation Because life in the LOM would be drastically different if such magic was commonplace, it is suggested that players dial back their usefulness. Suggestions for limiting this include a recharge period between uses so that it's impossible to portal to several places in quick succession, a size and duration limit so that only a few people can use a portal before it closes, and restrictions that stop portals from opening anywhere (it's no fun if assassins can just teleport into their target's bedrooms and skip all of the guards and defenses outside). Magically-Assisted Travel It's perfectly alright to use magic to speed a group's travel without making the journey instantaneous. Examples include magical navigation, spells that open paths through dense vegetation or similar obstacles, adjusting the wind to move a ship or (usually with the Artificer Rank, making magic-powered vessels such as airships or boats with their own method of propulsion. It would be fairly difficult to speed the passage of an entire army by these means, though. Conjuration Pulling objects out of nowhere is a staple of show magic in the real world, and still important in a fantasy setting. It's easier to conjure objects that already exist than it is to instantly create them: about twice as many objects can be moved as created, and magically-created objects are likely to disappear later on. As for what can be summoned from one place to another, it would be a good idea to limit the mass to two tons or less. A rowboat could be summoned, but a whole ship could not. It also takes a lot more power to summon something that is attached to something else: pulling a keystone out of an arch in a castle wall might be as hard as summoning a two-ton boulder sitting in a field. Finally, summoning unwilling people should be extremely difficult or impossible. Healing Normal magic or potions could heal a disease or stabilize a wounded person. With a little more energy, a magic-user with healing powers could repair a large wound or even restore a missing limb. However, an entire body (i.e., a corpse) cannot be repaired without the Enchanter rank. Necromancy The LOM assumes that sentient creatures have some sort of essence or soul that continues to exist after death. Necromancy involves manipulating all or part of this remnant. If a creature's spirit is captured or preserved immediately after death (usually in a soul diamond or soul gem) it is easier to work with than the spirit of a long-dead creature. Spirits like this can be stored to be summoned later, in which case they might appear as an echo of knowledge and personality, such as a ghostly warrior that can fight for its summoner for a period of time. They can also be bound to a physical body, creating zombies or animated constructs that slowly lose power over a longer period of time, or possibly moving in with a living host to create the semblance of a second personality complete with associated knowledge. Souls placed in non-living bodies can be maintained by another source of magic, usually the necromancer, for as long as the necromancer is willing to provide power, but a necromancer could only do this for one or two reanimated people at a time. If the soul is not captured immediately after death, it could be briefly interacted with during a complicated ritual but not brought back in its entirety. Alternatively, a corpse or other sort of body could be animated with non-sentient necromantic energy, creating a zombie or undead follower. Again, only up to two of these could be maintained for a long period of time, but a larger number could be supported for a matter of hours by a powerful necromancer. Finally, complete resurrection - the restoration of both soul and physical body - is left for Enchanters only.